Study of metro tunnel behavior for multi-stage excavating system (Case study: Qom metro)

Excavating tunnels in soft urban land has its own limitations. One of the most important limitations is the control of surface settlements to prevent damage to surface structures. Accordingly, choosing the best method for tunnel excavation is very significant. Among the existing methods for digging urban tunnels, step drilling methods are very widely used. Typically, these methods are not comparable to the mechanized drilling method for long tunnels. However, step drilling methods are used to drill short tunnels, large sections such as subway stations, non-circular sections, and complex structures such as intersections. Among the most important executive parts of step drilling are the length of the drilling step and the distance between the work fronts. Although these two parameters are very influential factors on the technical and economic aspects of the step drilling method, but there is no coherent process to determine these two parameters. In this research, the drilling stages of the tunnel of line A of Qom metro have been investigated in order to determine the length of the drilling step and the distance between the work fronts. The method of excavating this tunnel is pre support method. Using three-dimensional finite element modeling (Praxis 3D Tunnel), tunnel drilling is simulated in different progress modes. Eight progressive modes are provided for step length and six modes for spacing between fronts. The length of the drilling step and the distance between the work fronts are selected by examining the effect of different forward modes on the transverse diagrams of surface settlement, settlement values and soil displacement around the tunnel. Studies show that the same drilling step of 1 meter for the upper and lower parts with a distance of 25 meters between the fronts (a distance of more than one diameter of the tunnel), has the best performance for tunneling.